white wart on angelfish

[ohGODerin]

yesterday I noticed my smallest angelfish has a small white wart above his eye. the best I can do to describe it is that it looks exactly like a whitehead pimple (I know, gross, sorry). since then, I've been reading articles at a bunch of sites and threads on here. from what I've learned, it doesn't look like hole in the head to me, because the bump is definetly raised and not hole-like. also, it seems too big to be ich since I've read about ich described as being the size of a grain of salt. but I'm no expert. as far as the fish's behavior, nothing seems out of the normal. I sat and observed him for about 10 minutes and although he was one of the last ones that got excited to see me (thinking they would be fed) he swims normally and doesn't have clamped fins. his eyes and slime coating aren't cloudy either. he sometimes separates from the other three angels, but not to the point that I would worry. I've never seen the others bullying him either.

So basically, I have no idea what could be wrong with him nor do I have any inkling as to the seriousness of it or how to treat it. today I plan to do a good tank cleaning (scrubbing the glass and plants, rinsing gravel, good water change, etc.). after reading some articles on aquariumfish.net I was also thinking of removing some gravel since I have way more than an inch in there which includes an inch or so of flourite (thinking I might eventually add plants). I also may add aquarium salt, depending on the replies I get here.

so if anyone has encountered anything like this or knows about it or has any advice on treatments or what to do vs what not to do it would be much appreciated. I'm worried that if this thing is serious, the other fish in the tank may very well be infected too.

also about a week ago, our power here went out and in 24 hours the temperature dropped about 10 degrees which may have something to do with this. I posted a thread about that a few days ago on here.

okay so that was about as thorough as I can possibly get, except I'm still waiting for the results of my tests on the water parameters. until I post those though, I'd really appreciate your replies. like I said, I have no idea what to do. I'm planning to go to my LFS to pick up some stuff so if there's anything I definetly would need, reply quickly please. thanks everyone.


it's right behind his eye, there.
sorry it's blurry - he's too quick for my old camera.

P.S. real quick, it just occured to me that I want to say how helpful everyone here at fishforums.com have been to me in my adventure with this new hobby. a lot of you guys are old pros and may not know the relief that I feel as a beginner knowing there's a group of other hobbyists I can consult anytime I need to. so thanks for everything, fishforums.



..my, that was quite a lengthy post. if you got through it, congrats, lol.

[micstarz]

cant identify it but a guppy of mine had the same thing above her eye. thats exactly how I felt too when I first came here. not being useful here so I'll kick myself outta this thread now!

[TheOldSalt]

It's called Lymphocystis. As you surmised, it is indeed a wart. Eventually it will just go away on it's own if you keep the tank clean.

[Baby_Baby]

I'm still learning, too, but if U need any web help on finding disease sites or anything. Just let me know =)
hope ur little guy gets better

[ohGODerin]

thanks guys! he's looking a lot better now, though I feel a little silly for that huge post. I'm glad you could pin point what it was, Old Salt. thanks a ton everyone! Baby_Baby I read a sticky on here that you posted with two disease sites on it which were super helpful. thanks again.

[Baby_Baby]

no problem. I'll be hanging out here more.
good job OS, sorry I've been slacking